Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 18 bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 30 minutes

 

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1-2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs until smooth and thoroughly combined. Pour the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk or stir gently until incorporated and smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, smoothing out the top with a spatula.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.
6. To make the frosting, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy (you can do this by hand if they are both nice and soft, otherwise use a hand or stand mixer on medium speed). Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, and mix until completely combined and smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract.
7. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers covered, at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

(Recipe adapted from How To: Simplify)

A Worry or Two or Three . . .

by Charles R. Swindoll

 

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span?

Luke 12:25

In the depths of every person's soul, in the secret chambers where no one else knows the thoughts, we are usually able to find a worry or two or three. Even in the hearts of those who are laughing and smiling.

We worry about death---our own or that of a loved one. We worry about disobedience and sin, about feelings of guilt. We worry about daily problems---people problems, decision problems, problems related to work, home, relationships, finances, school . . .

You name it, we worry about it. . . .

One of the problems with worry is that it keeps you from enjoying what you have. When you worry about what you don't have, you won't be able to enjoy what you do have. That's what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:25: "I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink."

Worry is assuming responsibilities that you cannot handle. The truth is, they are responsibilities that God never intended for you to handle, because they are His.

Bear Claws

These bear claws are absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious! It's impossible to resist the delicate pastry, rich almond filling and pretty fanned tops sprinkled with sugar and almonds. I made yummy treats like this when I worked in a bakery years ago. -Aneta Kish, La Crosse, Wisconsin

This recipe is: Contest Winning

 

Prep: 45 min. + rising Bake: 15 min.
Yield: 18 Servings
45 15                60              

 

 

 

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1-1/4 cups half-and-half cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 egg white
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup almond paste, cubed
1 tablespoon water
Coarse or granulated sugar
Sliced almonds Directions

In a bowl, toss butter with 3 cups flour until well coated; refrigerate. In a large bowl, combine yeast and remaining flour.
In a saucepan, heat cream, sugar and salt to 120°-130°. Add to yeast mixture with 1 egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in butter mixture just until moistened. 

Place dough onto a well floured surface; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Starting at a short side, fold dough in thirds, forming a 12-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Give dough a quarter turn; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Fold into thirds, starting with a short side. Repeat, flouring surface as needed. (Do not chill dough between each rolling and folding.) Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours or until firm. 

For filling, in a small bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and almond paste; beat until smooth. Cut dough in half widthwise. Roll each portion into a 12-in. square; cut each square into three 12-in. x 4-in. strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons filling down center of each strip. Fold long edges together; seal edges and ends. Cut into three pieces. 

Place on greased baking sheets with folded edge facing away from you. With scissors, cut strips four times to within 1/2 in. of folded edge; separate slightly. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. 

Lightly beat water and remaining egg; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 each) equals 352 calories, 19 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 73 mg cholesterol, 207 mg sodium, 38 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 6 g protein.Check out other great recipes at Taste of Home!

God Speaks to the Quiet Heart

by Charles R. Swindoll

A day in Your courts is
better than a thousand outside.
Psalm 84:10

 

If the pace and the push, the noise and the crowds are getting to you, it's time to stop the nonsense and find a place of solace to refresh your spirit.

Deliberately say "no" more often. This will leave room for you to slow down, get alone, pour out your overburdened heart, and admit your desperate need for inner refreshment.

The good news is God will hear and He will help. The bad news is this: If you wait for someone else to bring about a change, things will only deteriorate.

All of us can testify, God does not speak to the hurried, worried mind. It takes time alone with Him and His Word before we can expect our spiritual strength to recover.

Invincible, Immutable, and Infinite

by Charles R. Swindoll

Now to the King eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only God,
be honor and glory forever and ever.
1 Timothy 1:17

Whoever is sovereign must have total, clear perspective.

He must see the end from the beginning.

He must have no match on earth or in heaven.

He must entertain no fears, no ignorance, and have no needs.

He must have no limitations and always know what is best.

He must never make a mistake.

He must possess the ability to bring everything to a purposeful conclusion and an ultimate goal.

He must be invincible, immutable, infinite, and self-sufficient.

His judgments must be unsearchable and His ways unfathomable.

He must be able to create rather than invent, to direct rather than wish, to control rather than hope, to guide rather than guess, to fulfill rather than dream.

Who qualifies? You guessed it . . . God, and God alone.

Cookies-and-Cream Cake Recipe

 

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
• 1-1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup coarsely crushed cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (about 8)

 

 Frosting

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 4 to 4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Oreo cookies and crushed Oreo cookies, optional

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water, oil and egg whites; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Gently fold in crushed cookies.
• Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For frosting, beat the shortening, sugar, milk and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Decorate the top with cookies and the sides with crushed cookies if desired. Yield: 12 servings.

 

 

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 piece) equals 533 calories, 21 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 354 mg sodium, 83 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

 

Originally published as Cookies-and-Cream Cake in Taste of Home June/July 1996, p67

 by Taste of Home

 

 

25 30              

God Is Awesome!

by Charles R. Swindoll

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and Your glory above all the earth.
Psalm 108:5

When was the last time you took a glance at a mountain? You don't glance at pictures of Mount Everest and say, "Hmm, nice hill. Maybe a little taller than some mountains."

You don't witness the glaciers in Alaska and say, "Oh, yeah, that's a pretty nice glacier."

You stand in silent awe.

I remember when my Marine battalion flew over Japan's Mount Fuji. Not one man on our plane, when they looked out and saw Fuji, said, "Sure, sure, that's nice." No, indeed! I mean, it was click, click, click . . . it was picture-taking time! This was picturesque, awesome Fuji!

Who made Fuji? God!

And like that mountain, the rest of His creation is equally awesome. Consider the stars in space, for example. Though we were to study for a lifetime, we still could not fathom them.

When God does it, it makes us stand back in respect. It puts all human achievements on the lowest level.

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

Courtesy of Amanda

Ingredients

 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp butter, very cold and cut in small cubes
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk

For Brushing
2 tbsp melted butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. It is very important to have a hot oven so do this step early and let your oven get super hot.)

Once the oven is hot, sift together the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Next, incorporate the cold butter into the flour mixture by mashing the ingredients together using your hands, a fork or a pastry blender until it resembles a course meal with pea-sized lumps of butter and flour. If using your hands, work extra quickly so that the butter doesn't melt during the blending process.

Add the buttermilk to the mixing bowl with the flour and butter. Stir just until all the ingredients have come together in a ball of dough. (Try not to overwork the dough as this will lead to tough biscuits!)
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Press or roll the dough into 1" thick circle (again, avoid over working the dough). Using a round cutter or ring mold dipped in flour, carefully cut out biscuits and place onto a sheet pan in a circle with the edges of each biscuit nearly (but not quite) touching one another and 1 biscuit situated in the middle of the circle. Loosely form the remaining dough scraps into 1 biscuit.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Place sheet pan in preheated oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush with more melted butter. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Grocery List

Author Unknown

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face,
walked into a grocery store..

She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if
he would let her charge a few groceries..

She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they
had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his
store at once.

Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the
money just as soon as I can.'

John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge
account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation
between the two The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he
would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in
a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?'

Louise replied, 'Yes sir.' 'O..K' he said, 'put your grocery list on the
scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in
groceries.'

Louise hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse
and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid
the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales
went down and stayed down..

The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said
begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.'

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the
other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put
more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.

The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of
paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.

It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:

'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.'

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned
silence.

Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a
fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; 'It was worth every penny of it.
Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'

Hershey Chocolate Pie

Total Time:

Prep Time: 0 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Courtesy of Nikki Kate.

• 1 chocolate wafer pie crust

Layer 1

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 8 ounces Cool Whip
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Layer 2

• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) box chocolate pudding
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Whip the cream cheese until softened.
2. Blend in powdered sugar, cool-whip and vanilla extract.
3. Put into crust and smooth out top.
4. Make pudding as directed on box for a pie, using only 1 1/2 cups of milk.
5. Top pie with pudding mixture and smooth out top.
6. Finish with Cool Whip and chocolate curls.
7. Refrigerate until set.

Ingredients:

Servings:
8 8

8

Servings Size

•